Holder, Hunter, Seeker, Whisperer
by DarkAngelofOtaku
Summary: Yuma, Kite, Shark, and JT each set out to collect the Numbers in this retelling of canon with new characters, new twists, and (of course) new cards. OC x Rio/Yuma x Tori/Nistro x Dextra/ one-sided Dumon x Marin much later. I hope you enjoy. Read and review (review; NOT flame or spam)
1. Chapter 1

**Holder, Hunter, Seeker, Whisperer**

Welcome all to my rehash of my former Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal story; Number Three Musketeers. I hope this updated version will be better well-received. Some traits from the previous version will still be prevalent in this one… such as Rio having already healed from her accident and undergoing physical therapy, my OC being able to talk with the Numbers, ALL the Numbers appearing even if just briefly, etc.

Disclaimer: I don't own ZeXal. If I did; Shark would've started collecting Numbers starting with Number 19: Freezadon in the tag duel.

Chapter 001: Infection Baal Zebul

The new student waited outside the classroom door for the teacher, a man named Mr. Kay, to introduce him to the class. His mother had suggested he start school on Friday so he could meet some new friends and have something do his first weekend in a new city, not to mention a new country.

The youth in question was thirteen-years-old and had just moved overseas from the US to Heartland City in Japan, due to his mother getting a promotion at her office job that required her to change branches.

He blew a strand of brown hair that had come loose out of his face and proceeded to gather his chocolate-colored locks that grew just past his shoulders, as if he were putting his hair into a ponytail, to make sure it looked good. Giving a sigh, he looked over his attire… a uniform.

Mom just had to enroll me in a school that had a uniform, he thought, rolling his green eyes; taking in his brown shoes, white socks, blue jeans, and white short-sleeved dress shirt with cuffs that matched his necktie in color. Said color identified what grade you were in; red (or pink for the girls) for first year, green for second year, and blue for third and final year. He wore red.

"You may come in now," Mr. Kay called from within.

The boy opened the door and walked to the front of the class, taking in everybody looking at him, noticing some of the girls giving him small smiles.

He bowed, "my name is JT Griffin. As Mr. Kay may have already told you, I'm from America. I look forward to getting to know my future friends and classmates."

"Now, does anyone have any questions for JT?" Mr. Kay asked.

"Ooh! Me! Me!" an excitable boy with weird-looking black and red hair waved his hand in a rather hyper matter.

"Yes, Yuma?" the teacher asked.

"My name's Yuma Tsukumo and I was wondering; do you duel?"

Some of the other kids snickered. Really? Practically everyone dueled this day and age.

JT smiled. Hello class clown, he mentally observed before answering the inquiry.

"I sure do," his smile changed into a smirk, "and if you're challenging me; I'll see you in the courtyard by the main entrance after school."

Yuma returned the smirk. "It's on!"

After school…

JT blew his nose, pocketing the used Kleenex, "stinkin' pollen. Stinkin' hay fever."

"Hey JT!" a familiar obnoxious voice called out to him.

JT turned to see Yuma with a very large boy with spiky black hair under a backwards red cap and a cute girl with green hair done in a bun with a pink ribbon.

"Brought your friends, have you?" JT noted.

"You bet I did!" Yuma replied, "these are my best pals, Bronk Stone and Tori Meadows."

The big guy, Bronk, smiled and raised his hand, "hey."

The girl, Tori, smiled, "nice to meet you. Welcome to Heartland."

JT nodded, "thanks. So Yuma, you ready for our duel?"

"I'm always ready!" Yuma arrogantly declared.

JT grinned, "I like your style. Let's duel it!"

"I'm gonna feel the flow!"

Both duelists readied their duel pads and duel gazers. Yuma's was red and his gazer was yellow and white with a green lens. JT's was dark green with a dark green and black gazer sporting a purple lens.

"Let's duel!" they both cried.

AUGMENTED REALITY VISION LINK ESTABLISHED

JT-4000/Yuma-4000

"You made the challenge so you can have the first move," JT nodded as he and Yuma drew their opening hands.

"Don't mind if I do," Yuma drew, "I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

JT made his first draw, "I think I'll summon Skull Meister."

Before him materialized a black-haired man adorned in red and black robes with white fur trim. Sticking to sections of his raiment were various skulls, some human and some not. (1700/400)

"Attack his face-down monster with boneyard blitzkrieg!"

Skull Meister waved his arms, causing the skulls he wore to fire blasts of black magic towards Yuma's monster, which revealed itself to be a reddish-brown knight protected by a pair of blue shields with gold lining. (0/1800)

"Sorry JT," smiled Yuma, "but Ganbara Knight has more defense than your Skull Meister's attack."

"Not for long," JT retaliated, "I use the quick-play spell card, Forbidden Chalice. This card increases his attack by 400." (1700/400=2100/400)

The streaming waves of darkness ripped through Ganbara Knight like a hot knife through butter.

"I'll end my turn there," announced JT, Skull Meister's score resetting itself. (2100/400=1700/400)

"My move!" cried Yuma. He quickly checked his hand, "I summon Gagaga Magician!"

A navy blue and crimson-clad sorcerer decked out in chains appeared in front of him. (1500/1000)

"I also equip him with Wonder Wand, which increases his attack points by 500!" (1500/1000=2000/1000)

"Attack Skull Meister!"

Gagaga Magician aimed the wand, firing a greenish blast of magic at his foe, overwhelming and destroying the opponent's monster.

2000-1700=300

JT-3700/Yuma-4000

"Your move," Yuma gestured.

JT drew, "let's see what I got… I summon Effect Veiler."

Appearing on the field was a super cute girl with turquoise hair in twin-tails wearing a red choker, white sleeveless dress with red trim, detached white sleeves, black thigh-high stockings, and red ballet flats. (0/0)

"She's cute," Bronk commented.

"And since I've normal-summoned, I can special-summon Turbo Booster!" JT played another card. This one was a yellow machine with massive boost rockets for arms. (0/0)

"Both his monsters have zero attack," said Tori.

"But they're the same level," Bronk noted, "he must be going for a Xyz-summon."

JT made a sound like a buzzer, "wrong. I tune my level one Effect Veiler with my level one Turbo Booster…"

"Did he just say tune?!" Bronk yelped as Effect Veiler turned into a green ring while Turbo Booster passed through, becoming transparent with a star in it.

"… racing night and day, rev your engine and assist me in this duel. Synchro-summon! Ready, set, go, Formula Synchron!"

Replacing the two monsters was a red, green, white, yellow, but mostly blue Formula-1 race car with robotic arms and legs. It crouched down to indicate it was in defense mode. (200/1500)

"Holy cow!" cried Bronk, "a Synchro monster! Do you know how rare those are?!"

JT smiled, "and there's more. When Formula Synchron is Synchro-summoned, I get to draw a card."

He did so, raising the number of cards in his hand to four, "I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."

Yuma made his next draw. "Your toy car doesn't scare me! Gagaga Magician; attack!"

"Then how about my face-down card? I activate Forbidden Lance! One monster on the field loses 800 attack points and I choose your magician!"

Yuma gasped as Gagaga Magician's points dropped. (2000/1000=1200/1000)

JT smiled, "and there's more! Any monster affected by Forbidden Lance is immune to spell and trap cards for the turn… meaning your monster temporarily loses the power boost from Wonder Wand!"

This time Bronk and Tori joined Yuma in gasping. (1200/1000=700/1000)

The magical blast rebounded helplessly off Formula Synchron's casing.

1500-700=800

JT-3700/Yuma-3200

Yuma grabbed a card in his hand, "I'll play this face-down and end my turn."

Gagaga Magician's score reset. (700/1000=2000/1000)

"Back to me," JT announced, "I summon Eco, Mystical Spirit of the Forest."

Spouting from the ground was a cross between a woman and a tree. (1700/1000)

"Now I tune my level two Formula Synchron with my level four Eco…"

"Again?!" Bronk gaped as Formula Synchron become two green rings and the Mystical Spirit of the Forest turned transparent with four stars within her.

"… prowling through the darkness, great beast born from a bite. Synchro-summon! Howl, Celestial Wolf Lord-Blue Sirius!"

Tori and Bronk took a step back beholding the savage beast that now loomed on the field; a fearsome bluish lycanthrope sporting menacingly spiked silver armor with extra wolf heads where the hands should have been. (2400/1500)

JT pointed at Gagaga Magician, "tear his monster apart with Midnight Laceration!"

As the great beast got set to lunge, Yuma pressed a button on his duel pad.

"Your mutt ain't 'lacerating' anything! I activate Negate Attack!"

"Your turn, then. Let's see if you can soothe this savage beast," JT smiled.

Yuma grinned, seeing his draw.

"Be careful what you wish for! First I summon Achacha Archer!"

Standing on the magician's left was a yellow and gray-clad archer. (1200/600)

"When Achacha Archer is summoned, you take 500 points of damage!" Yuma excitedly explained.

JT-3200/Yuma-3200

"I also play a spell card… Full Force Strike! Now when one of my monsters battles one of yours, my guy survives and I take no damage… but your monster isn't so lucky! Achaha Archer; strike down Blue Sirius!"

The archer drew his bow, the arrowhead combusting into flame, and let it fly. The arrow pierced the wolf's gut, causing it to double over and growl in pain before exploding into pixelated nothingness.

"Now, Gagaga Magician; attack JT directly!"

The blast of green light emitted from the Wonder Wand struck JT head on, but to Yuma's confusion; his opponent didn't flinch.

JT-3200/Yuma-3200

"WHAT?!" Yuma exclaimed, "how come you didn't lose any life points?!"

JT pointed. "Take a look at Gagaga Magician."

Yuma did so… and pulled back in shock.

His signature monster's attack points had dropped… all the way to zero! (2000/1000=0/1000)

"What? How?" asked Tori, due to Yuma being too dumbfounded by this revelation to do so himself.

"It's all thanks to my Celestial Wolf Lord, Blue Sirius," JT explained with a grin, "when my feral friend is destroyed; his attack points are deducted from the attack points of one of my opponent's monsters."

Yuma looked at his hand; Dododo Warrior, Mini-Guts, and Stinging Swordsman couldn't help him at the moment, "I end my turn."

"Then it's my turn," JT declared, making his draw. Effect Veiler and Celestial Wolf Lord, Blue Sirius slid out of his graveyard, "I banish a light monster and a dark monster to special-summon Chaos Sorcerer!" Materializing was a grayish-purple skinned man wearing black leather robes and a sinister expression. (2300/2000)

"This duel is over," he declared, "I use the spell card, Double Attack! Now by discarding a monster from my hand, a lower level monster can attack twice. So I'll discard my level eight Beast King Barbaros to give that honor to my level six Chaos Sorcerer. Now… attack Achacha Archer and Gagaga Magician!"

The sorcerer smirked, materializing a wicked-looking sword in his right hand and lunging forth. With a downwards diagonal swing, he cleaved through the archer.

2300-1200=1100

JT-3200/Yuma-2100

Chaos Sorcerer then thrust his blade through Gagaga Magician's chest cavity… all the way to the hilt, all-the-while sporting a malicious grin at his victim's agony until it digitized away.

2300-0=2300

JT-WIN/Yuma-0

"Aw man!" whined Yuma, "I lost… but still; that was a fun duel! We gotta do it again some time!"

"Sounds like a plan," JT agreed.

"I can't believe you have Synchro monsters," Bronk awed, "they're really rare."

"And there's a lot more when they came from."

JT pulled out his extra deck, fanning it out to reveal that, except for a single fusion monster, his entire extra deck was made up of Synchro monsters.

"Ten to be exact," he explained, "one for each level from two to eleven."

"That's awesome!" Yuma praised, "let's keep dueling until you summon them all!"

"I'd love to," said JT, "but I should get home and take care of my homework so the weekend is all clear."

So they said their good-byes and JT headed off while Yuma and Bronk stuck around to do some more dueling.

But that was a mistake.

Bronk had foolishly stepped up to duel the school's resident bully, Reginald "Shark" Kastle, and lost big time, losing his deck in the process due to the previously establish ante rule. Yuma, stepping up to bat for his friend, challenged Shark to win back the deck.

Little did the world know that during that duel, a great power would descend from the cosmos and widespread chaos would engulf the dueling community as duelists the world over would very soon have to contend with a "number" of problems.

And… done! This one's way longer than the original chapter one. Anyways, before you guys accuse me of my OC being a Gary Stu, remember; this chapter is set before the faithful duel. Before Astral and the Numbers; Yuma didn't have any Xyz monsters and his skills were… less than skillful. So, I am merely keeping characters in accordance with this point in the series timeline. Also; anyone care to guess what JT's first Number will be? Anyone who's read my first version might remember. Hopefully, I'll see you next time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hunter, Holder, Seeker, Whisperer**

Well… something awesome happened at locals yesterday. I managed to take a pure Shaddoll deck down to only 400 life points… with old-school Red Eyes! I used Ring of Destruction and Barrel Behind the Door on Beast, had Red Eyes attack Winda, activated Magic Cylinder against Construct, and whipped out Inferno Fire Blast. The only card left in my hand was Red Eyes Black Chick. If only I had drawn Stamping Destruction…

Disclaimer: I don't own ZeXal. If I did; we wouldn't have gotten those stupid Numeron Gate monsters due to Infection Baal Zebul, Ninja Shadow Mosquito, Cicada King, and Stealth Kragen being far better.

Also, I would like to dedicate this chapter to the memory of Christopher Lee. RIP Saruman the White.

Chapter 002: Ninja Shadow Mosquito

A translucent blue hand, not of this world, reached out… extracting a rectangular mass of energy from the body of the just defeated duelist and absorbed it.

A seemingly disembodied voice then spoke.

"I see… upon obtaining Number 17: Leviathan Dragon, I now know that, in order to regain my memories; I must collect all one hundred Number cards."

Elsewhere…

A young man, name of JT, was sitting in his room and perusing his duel monsters deck.

Hmm, he thought, these Synchro monsters can only take me so far. I'll need an Xyz monster or two… but unfortunately; those are kind of hard to come by.

As he pondered and pondered, a beam of light shone into his room.

He looked over with a start, "hmm… just a trick of the light. This concentration is getting to me."

Appearing before him was the spectral form of a young woman. This young woman had long turquoise hair in twin tails and donned a white ensemble with black stockings and red shoes.

"JT," she spoke to the youth, her voice calm and soothing, "it wasn't a trick of the light. Take a look there on the floor."

JT followed the direction the spirit's finger was pointing… to find a white rectangular form.

He got off his bed, walking over and approaching the object cautiously.

"What is it?" he asked, squatting down to get a better look.

The spirit girl looked at him, "I believe it's a card. But, a card unlike any I've seen."

JT reached out to pick up the supposed card.

"Be careful!" the spirit spoke.

"Relax, Effie," JT smiled, taking hold of the card… only for the light to fade away, revealing a Xyz monster. The picture depicted a man in seemingly Arabian garb, complete with turban, throwing daggers of blue energy. Upon the turban was a numerical designation.

Both the duelist JT and the duel spirit of Effect Veiler looked at the new card.

"Number…?"

Materializing next to them was a large man sporting black armor and spiky red hair with a gigantic sword strapped to his back and his arms were crossed, "I sense power coming from it. But is it malevolent of benign?"

"I'm sure it's safe, Gorz," Effie looked at her fellow spirit, "for if it wasn't; something would have most likely occurred by now."

While Effect Veiler may have been right about the presence of the mystery card, other cards of the same origin were not as benign. For the rest of the scattered enigmas had spread far and wide, landing in the hands of all manner of people; from a young television star and an up-and-coming boxer to a pair of gang leaders, as well as a ruthless mad scientist.

Just to name a few.

JT had decided to head out and look at picking up some new cards, seeing as how this Number monster was rank seven and he currently only had three level seven monsters in his deck… two of which were in his extra, a Fusion and Synchro respectfully.

And so… sporting a green corduroy jacket, black T-shirt, blue jeans, and red high tops; our hero set out on his quest.

An hour or so later, as he was heading home after managing to collect four new level seven monsters, he heard a commotion as he took a shortcut through the park.

Upon investigating, JT saw the source; a group of children at the playground were crying as a somewhat heavyset guy stood over them, a high-schooler from the looks of him.

"Give us back our cards, you bully!"

"That card was a birthday present!"

"Grandpa left me that in his will!"

The offender just smirked at them, "heh, heh. This is what's called spoils of war you little brats. I won so naturally; I get a prize. In this case, it just happened to be your rarest cards!"

JT glared at the troublemaker with utter contempt, having always despised those who would steal another duelist's cards instead of buying them at a shop or taking their chances with booster packs.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size!" he challenged the bully, and upon taking note of his girth, added, "although that appears to be a bit of a long shot, tubby."

His would-be opponent glared back, "don't dis the gut of the Awesome Elroy!"

Elroy was a mildly rotund high-school boy with a tan and was shaved bald. He was wearing an open black hoodie over a black and white striped tee that rode up, exposing his navel, and sported quite a few food stains, along with dark blue jeans hanging down exposing his briefs, and black sneakers.

What really grabbed JT's attention was tattooed to the right of Elroy's bellybutton was what appeared to be a maroon "55."

Materializing beside JT was the monster on his new Xyz card, "master. This undisciplined youth taints one of my kin. I implore you to rescue them from his corrupt clutches."

"So… take his card like he took theirs'?" JT clarified, "I'm down with dispensing some just karma."

He turned back to Elroy, "let's duel it!"

Elroy smirked, "just so long as you cough up your rarest card when you lose!"

"Not if I take yours when I win."

AUGMENTED REALITY VISION LINK ESTABLISHED

JT-4000/Elroy-4000

Elroy grabbed the top card of his deck, "since I set the conditions, I'll go first!"

He drew his sixth card, "I set a monster in defense mode and play a card face-down."

"My move," JT announced, "I summon Skull Meister."

Materializing was the red and black clad man covered in skulls. (1700/400)

"Attack his face-down monster with boneyard blitzkrieg!"

The jaws of the skulls opened and fired concentrated bursts of black magic towards Elroy's monster.

"I activate my face-down card; Demise of the Land!" Elroy countered, "when you attack, I can play a field spell from my deck! And I choose… Catapult Zone!"

The scenery changed into a rocky terrain with a cliff face rearing up behind Elroy. Upon the top of the cliff were squads of men prepping a legion of catapults.

The attack connected, slamming into a bulky green and blue behemoth made of stone. (1800/1500)

"That's my Gogogo Golem," Elroy smirked, "once per turn, he can't be destroyed in battle."

"I'll end my turn," declared JT.

Elroy grinned, "I play the continuous spell, Field Barrier. Now so long as this card's in play, my field spell is safe from any removal. I also summon Gogogo Giant."

Towering over the duelists was a mostly brown mechanical golem. (2000/0)

"Now I overlay my two level four Gogogos," Elroy smirked, "with these two monsters I build the overlay network!"

Appearing before the duelists was a spiral galaxy instead of the usual red vortex that appeared for a Xyz summon. Above the void appeared a red "55."

Rising up from the abyss was a large beast made of stone with a cylindrical body and clunky blue armor over mechanical limbs that were colored red. A pair of massive red columns were attached to its back and gun turrets made up the chest and neck. Emblazoned upon the stone gut was a red "55."

"I Xyz-summon… Number 55: Gogogo Goliath!" (2400/1200)

"Careful mister," one of the children called to JT, "that monster can't be beat by normal monsters!"

Elroy turned and barked at the kid, "shaddup you stinkin' brat! Goliath; attack his Skull Meister!"

The behemoth swung a massive fist, smashing JT's opening monster into pixels.

2400-1700=700

JT-3300/Elroy-4000

"Back to me," JT drew his next card, "I use Monster Reborn to revive Skull Meister." (1700/400)

He plucked another card from his hand, "I also summon Hanewata."

A yellow dust bunny with wings appeared before him. (200/300)

"That's a tuner?!" Elroy gaped.

JT smirked, "that's right. I now use Star Changer, raising him from level one to level two. Now then, onto the fun part… I tune my now level two Hanewata with my level four Skull Meister…"

Elroy and the kids watched in awe as Hanewata turned into a green ring and Skull Meister jumped through, becoming transparent with four stars within him.

"… prowling through the darkness, great beast born from a bite. Synchro-summon! Howl, Celestial Wolf Lord-Blue Sirius!"

The pillar of light faded to reveal a biped canine in silver armor with blue fur and three heads, two of which where the hands should be. (2400/1500)

JT pointed at Gogogo Goliath, "attack his oversized rock pile! Sic' em!"

Elroy smugly looked on as his monster slammed both fists down upon the wolf's head, destroying the beast in a flash of light.

"You fool. Even though our monsters' points were equal, my guy can't be destroyed. You see… only a Number can best another Number in battle."

"That wasn't my intention," JT proclaimed, "I was aiming for my Wolf Lord's effect."

Elroy looked stumped, "what effect?"

JT smirked, "when he's destroyed, he drops the attack points of one of my opponent's monsters down by however many attack points he had. And since they both had 2400 points…"

Elroy's eyes widened, "then my monster's attack is zero!"

2400/1200=0/1200

"That ends my turn."

Elroy grit his teeth as he drew, "I switch Number 55: Gogogo Goliath to defense mode and play another monster in defense mode as well. And when Gogogo Goliath is in defense mode, all my monsters gain 800 defense points."

0/1200=0/2000

"I draw!" JT stated the obvious, "first I use Shield Crush to destroy your face-down monster."

Gogogo Gigas was sent to the graveyard.

"I also summon Eco, Mystical Spirit of the Forest."

Rising up was a plant-like woman. (1700/1000)

"I play Forbidden Chalice," JT continued, "this card not only gives one monster four hundred extra attacks points, but also negates its effect. Meaning I can destroy Gogogo Goliath with a monster that isn't a Number, like Eco for example. Not to mention, you lose the defense point bonus. Attack!"

Eco conjured a red ball of energy in her hands and fired it at the Number monster.

Elroy rolled his eyes, "man you're a doofus! I use the effect of my field spell, Catapult Zone. I'll send another Gogogo Gigas to the graveyard to save my monster from destruction."

JT took one of the two remaining cards in his hand and set it, "I'll play this and end my turn."

Elroy looked at his cards, "I set one card face-down and play Attack the Moon! Now whenever a rock-type monster switches battle mode, I can destroy a spell or trap card. And I'll move Number 55 to attack mode, getting rid of your face-down!"

A large stone sword dropped down, destroying Pinpoint Guard.

"Your move," Elroy smirked.

This guy can put up a fight, he thought, I actually have to work for my prize this round.

"I use the effect of Thunder Dragon in my hand," JT explained, "by discarding him; I can add two more copies from my deck to my hand. Now I use Polymerization to fuse them together!"

Two identical serpentine dragons appeared and zoomed upwards around each other in the shape of a double helix, colliding at the apex in a brilliant flash of light, descending as a red two-headed creature with green talons and purple nasal horns. (2800/2100)

"I give you… Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon! Attack Gogogo Goliath!"

Time to take advantage of his immunity, Elroy thought.

"I activate my trap card, Spirit Barrier! Now as long as I have a monster in play, I take no battle damage!"

Even though his opponent was a jerk, JT was impressed with his field. He seemed to have all the bases covered; monster protection, life point protection, spell and trap destruction.

Elroy drew for his turn, "I switch my monster to defense mode and sit tight. Your move."

JT looked at the card he drew, "hmm… I pass."

"I set a monster in defense mode," Elroy played.

JT drew, "I tribute both of my monsters in order to summon Fog King!"

Standing before them was now a being in gray armor with a blue cape seemingly made of mist. (0/0)

"And before you point out his attack points, let me just say… his attack value becomes the combined total of all monsters I sacrificed to bring him out!"

Elroy gasped as Fog King's points skyrocketed.

1700+2800=4500

Fog King-(4500/0)

"Attack his face-down monster!" JT commanded.

The towering monster swung his sword, cleaving the card in two… revealing a ceramic pot with a troll face peering out from the opening. (700/600)

"That's my grandpa's Morphing Jar!" one of the kids protested.

Elroy smirked, "now we both discard our hands and draw five new cards."

After drawing, JT calmly replied, "I end my turn."

"I play Dark Hole, destroying every monster on the field!" Elroy cried as both monsters were sucked into a swirling abyss.

"Now I use Double Summon to call out two copies of Gogogo Golem!" he declared, "attack this chump directly!"

"Afraid not," JT countered, plucking a card from his hand, "when you attack me directly, I can special-summon Battle Fader and end the battle phase!"

Appearing in defense mode was a small X-shaped imp waving a bell in a pendulum motion. (0/0)

"Now I use Monster Reincarnation," Elroy pressed, "discarding a card to add a monster back to my hand… or in this case, my extra deck. Now I overlay my two level four Gogogo Golems. With these two monsters I build the overlay network…"

The summoning galaxy manifested itself once more.

"… and Xyz-summon Number 55: Gogogo Goliath, back to full power!" (2400/1200)

He smirked, "let's see what you got, punk."

"Famous last words," JT smirked, shooting him a triumphant grin, "I play Magic Stone Excavation. At the cost of two cards from my hand, I get back a spell card. Now I use my just-retrieved Monster Reborn to revive Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!" (2800/2100)

"I also summon Effect Veiler," he declared as the familiar turquoise-haired cutie appeared before him. (0/0)

"Now I tune my level one Effect Veiler with my level one Battle Fader and level seven Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon…" he began.

Effect Veiler transformed into a green ring as the other two monsters dove through it, going see-through and bearing stars equal to their respective level.

"… great slug of storms who crawls the earth, erupt from beneath the mantle and bring me victory. Synchro-summon! Mist Wurm!"

Towering over the field and duelists was a hulky indigo-colored worm, for lack of a better description. (2500/1500)

"Awesome!" the kids cheered.

Elroy took an unconscious step back.

"When Mist Wurm is Synchro-summoned; three of my opponent's cards go back to their hand," JT explained in a smug tone.

Elroy went cold with horror, knowing full well what that meant.

Spirit Barrier, Field Barrier, and of course Number 55 were blasted off the field, leaving him wide open.

"Before you open your trap saying my great beast doesn't have enough points to take you down, I assure he will," JT continued, taking the last card in his hand, "once I equip him with this: Megamorph! Since my life points are lower than yours, this card doubles his attack strength!"

"WHAT?!" Elroy practically screamed in terror.

2500/1500=5000/1500

"Finish him," JT said flatly.

Mist Wurm dove, head-first, at Elroy… slamming into him, sending him flying back, and his cards flying everywhere.

JT-WIN/Elroy-0

After the augmented reality shut down, JT walked up to him and helped the kids take back their cards. Once they left, JT turned his attention to Elroy's cards, one in particular.

"Karma dictates I take one of your cards so I claim Number 55: Gogogo Goliath as my prize."

He looked at his newest card, "welcome aboard, big guy."

And there's chapter two, ladies and gentlemen. Let me just say that JT won't be the only one with Synchro monsters. Thanks to advice from a fellow fanfic author, I have decided that some canon characters, such as Quinton, shall have a Synchro or two. And yes, the boxer part refers to Alito. He's not on earth yet. That part was just a teaser of some duels down the road. I also mentioned the Sparrow, Dr. Faker, Scorch, and Chills. And I promise, you'll see JT's Number in due time. Although, you've probably figured out which one it is due to the picture's description. I hope to see you next time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hunter, Holder, Seeker, Whisperer**

Otakon 2015 was awesome. Aside from me, there were at least ten people cosplaying Dipper from Gravity Falls. There were also some Mabels, Soos, Wendys, Giffanys, Bills, Stans, and even a Pacifica.

Disclaimer: I don't own ZeXal. If I did, we'd have all hundred Numbers revealed by now… and made into real-life cards.

Chapter 003: Cicada King

What's with those weird power surges as of late? JT wondered as he walked down the street. As he passed by the hospital, he saw two people leaving the building.

One he recognized; a boy with dark indigo-colored hair that curled outwards at the bottom. He wore an unbuttoned purple long-sleeved shirt over a black T-shirt, charcoal-colored slacks, and white shoes with green studs.

It was a kid from school; Reginald Kastle, better known as Shark for his ferocity in duels coupled with using a water deck.

The lovely young woman with him JT did not recognize.

The girl in question had long blue hair that curled outwards at the ends like her brother's, accented by lighter-colored bangs that perfectly framed her face. She was wearing a stylized white vest with a red bow under the lapel. The vest was worn over a pink long-sleeved blouse with the hem over a white miniskirt. She wore black thigh-high stockings and finishing off her ensemble were a pair of white ankle boots.

Is that his girlfriend? Must be his sister or something due to similar facial features, JT mentally surmised.

"Hey, you!"

JT snapped out of his daze, oblivious to the fact he had been staring at the blunette vision.

"Quit making goo-goo eyes at my sister!" Shark snarled.

JT raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Sorry, didn't mean to stare. After all, don't women want people to acknowledge their beauty?"

The girl smiled with a slight blush, having thought the new arrival was attractive himself, "thank you. My name's Rio Kastle. You?"

JT placed his right hand across his waist and bowed, "JT Griffin; at your service."

Rio gave a smile, "nice to meet you. What brings you to Heartland General?"

"Nothing, really. I was just passing by when I saw you guys coming out and, I don't mean to be rude, but… I was distracted by lovely lady before me."

Shark was steaming. How dare this guy blatantly flirt with his baby sister… and directly in front of him, no less?!

"Why don't you piss off? My sister doesn't need a stalker."

JT and Rio both looked at him, JT in incredulity and Rio in annoyance.

"Really, Reginald," she huffed, "just because a cute guy offers me a complement or two, you get all defensive? I can take care of myself."

Shark grabbed his duel pad and duel gazer, "I'm just doing my brotherly duty and watching out for you. Anyways, JT; let's duel! If I win, you stay away from my sister."

"And if I win," JT added, readying his duel pad and duel gazer, "you tell me which species of shark you named yourself after. Hammerhead? Great White? Goblin shark, tiger shark, or perhaps a mako? Really; I am curious."

Shark's face went red, partially out of anger for being mocked and partially out of embarrassment as JT's question got a laugh from Rio.

Elsewhere…

Intrepid reporter Kari Tsukumo had forced her little brother Yuma to do some investigating concerning the recent power surges. And Yuma had decided to drag Tori along for the ride.

They had busted the class president; a nerd by the name of Caswell Francis. But to their shock, Caswell was trying to find the source of the surges as well via backtracking the hacker.

Caswell's computer software had traced the viral program to its source: a computer terminal with a tower currently under construction.

There is where they would find the perpetrator. And so Yuma, Tori, and Caswell took off to catch the hacker red-handed.

What color are their hands now? That's not important. In the meanwhile, let's check back with JT and Shark's duel.

JT-4000/Shark-4000

"I'll start things off," spat Shark, "I draw! Since I have no monsters, I can normal-summon Depth Shark without tribute."

Appearing before him was a metallic-looking cross between a shark and an angler with red eyes.(1400/0)

"That ends my turn," Shark declared.

JT drew his sixth card.

"During your turn, my monster's attack points double until your end phase," Shark smirked.

1400/0=2800/0

"I play Soul Exchange," declared JT, "now by sacrificing my battle phase this turn, I can tribute one of your monsters for one of my own. So I'll do just that. Good-bye Depth Shark, and hello one monster in defense mode. Your move."

"I summon Hammer Shark," declared Shark, unleashing a literal hammerhead shark.(1700/1500)

"But I'm not done," he continued, plucking a card from his hand, "now I play Aqua Jet. This card gives my monster a permanent boost of one thousand attack points!"

1700/1500=2700/1500

"Now attack his monster!"

Hammer Shark swam forth… only to collide with a massive wall of scaly gray skin as a behemoth triceratops appeared.

2800-2700=100

JT-4000/Shark-3900

JT grinned, "that's my Trifortressops(1600/2800)."

Shark grimaced, "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Meanwhile…

As the sun started to set, lengthening the shadows of Heartland City, Yuma, Tori, and Caswell approached the location of the hacker that was causing trouble for their fair city.

The three students ran into the construction site, following Caswell's tracking of the signal source. Loading onto the elevator and pushing the button for the top floor, they began their ascent.

"Whoever's behind this, we'll nail 'em!" Yuma declared, "and if push comes to shove, I'll duel 'em into submission."

"That's not exactly reassuring," Caswell muttered, as he and the rest of the student body was well aware of Yuma's, shall we say… dismal track record when it came to dueling.

The elevator reached the top floor and the doors opened.

"Well, well," a familiar voice spoke, "I'm disappointed, Caswell. Given your talents, I was expecting you to pinpoint my location earlier."

The three students were shocked to discover that the one seemingly responsible was their own teacher, Mr. Kay!

Back to the duel…

JT-4000/Shark-3900

"My move," JT made his draw, "I summon Hanewata."

Materializing was a yellow fuzzball with tiny angel wings and antennae.(200/300)

"I now use Star Changer to increase his level by one," JT continued, "so now I'll tune my now level two Hanewata with my level six Trifortressops…"

Hanewata became a green ring as the massive dinosaur somehow fit through it, becoming transparent in the process.

"…foul demon of the abyss; manifest from darkness and take command. Synchro-summon! Thought Ruler Archfiend!"

Shark and Rio each took an unconscious step back as, appearing before them, a large green gargoyle with an orange and white skeletal makeup emerged, whipping its tail and flapping its bat-like wings with an otherworldly growl. (2700/2300)

JT plucked another card from his hand, "I play Synchro Blast Wave. This card destroys one of your monsters when I control a Synchro monster. So say good-bye to your shark!"

The siblings watched as a laser lanced through Hammer Shark, bursting it into a rain of pixels.

"Attack him directly!" JT cried.

Shark smirked, "afraid not. I activate my trap card, Negate Attack! That puts an end to your attack, as well as your battle phase."

"Very well," JT returned the smirk, "I end my turn."

Elsewhere, with Yuma and co…

"Mr. Kay?!" the three students gasped, hardly believing their beloved teacher was the culprit.

"That's right," the educator smirked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "and you're just in time. Behold!"

He pointed to his left, indicating a computer screen that displayed a timer.

"Once that timer reaches zero, one of the most potent computer programs ever devised will be activated. The city will never forget the technological wonder they will soon witness."

"Not if we stop you!" Yuma declared.

"You really think you can defeat me before time runs out?" Mr. Kay smirked.

Before Yuma could answer, Caswell stepped up, his duel pad and duel gazer primed for action, "in the end; I certainly do."

"Huh?" Yuma looked at Caswell like he was crazy.

"Only a technological genius has a chance against Mr. Kay's intellect, which in the end; is why I must duel him," Caswell explained, "and I promise you this: I will win."

How's that? I've never seen a retelling where Caswell takes on Mr. Kay. I'm toying with the idea of him getting Number 34. Get ready for two neck and neck duels next chapter. Spoiler: Shark will have at least a couple of Synchro monsters. See you next time.


End file.
